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25 bodies of foreigners found after Algeria bloodbath

Security forces found the bodies of 25 foreigners Sunday as they combed a desert gas plant after a deadly stand-off with Islamists, and witnesses said nine Japanese hostages had been executed. Full story

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Obama to take second oath of office today

Barack Obama will Sunday be sworn in to shoulder the power and burden of the US presidency for a second term, launching two days of inaugural rituals darkened by domestic discord and crises abroad. Full story

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Forgotten victims of ‘Kashmir of the seas’

The killings of Indian and Pakistani troops in Kashmir have once again captured the world’s attention but the victims of a lesser-known border dispute between the two nations are largely forgotten. Full story

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Five family members die in Syria air raid

Five members of one family were killed in air raids on a town in Damascus province on Sunday, as Syrian warplanes bombarded a battleground town southwest of the capital, a watchdog said. Full story

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Iraq protester sets self ablaze in anti-govt rally

An Iraqi protester set himself ablaze on Sunday in a dramatic turn in more than three weeks of rallies by Sunni Muslims challenging Shia prime minister Nuri al-Maliki’s government. Thousands of Sunni demonstrators have... Full story

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Germans vote in regional election test for Merkel

Germany’s fourth-largest state voted Sunday in a tight regional election seen as a major test for chancellor Angela Merkel, her rivals and would-be heirs, eight months before nationwide polls. Lower Saxony, a region of 6.2 million... Full story

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Japan’s grandmother poet dies at 101

Japanese poet Toyo Shibata, who started writing at the age of 92 and whose first anthology sold almost 1.6 million copies, died Sunday aged 101, her son said. Shibata died at a nursing home near her residence in Utsunomiya... Full story

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Parties fight for undecided voters as Israel poll nears

Israeli soldiers headed to the polls on Sunday, two days ahead of a general election, the military said, as politicians made last-ditch appeals before nationwide voting gets underway on January 22. Full story

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11 killed in Mexican drugs clashes

Police and army troops squared off with presumed hitmen working for drug traffickers in two deadly incidents in Mexico that left 11 gunmen dead, authorities said Saturday. In Puente Nacional, in the eastern state of... Full story

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French troops advance towards Mali’s Islamist-held north

French troops on Sunday advanced towards Mali’s Islamist-held north as Russia and Canada offered to help transport French and African soldiers to boost the Paris-led offensive. Full story

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2nd Tibetan burns himself in China in a week

A young Tibetan in southwestern China has died after setting himself on fire, rights groups have reported, marking the second self-immolation protest in a week and lifting the total to nearly 100. Full story

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Venezuela open to better ties with US

Venezuela’s government is open to improving troubled ties with Washington and is considering a US proposal for the return of anti-drug agents kicked out of the country eight years ago by president Hugo Chavez, a senior official said. Full story

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Myanmar rebels accuse army of flouting ceasefire

Kachin ethnic minority rebels in war-torn northern Myanmar accused the military of launching a fresh attack Sunday, just days after a ceasefire pledge by the country’s reformist government. Full story

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Kenya tackles hate speech ahead of elections

With elections weeks away, Kenya is tackling the hate speech that had fanned ethnic violence following the presidential polls five years ago in which more than 1,100 people were killed. Set up in 2008 after the contested polls, Kenya’s National... Full story

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Libya minister escapes armed attack unhurt

Libya’s defence minister was unhurt on Saturday after being caught in a firefight between his bodyguards and ex-rebels at an airbase in the east of the country, his deputy told the news agency. Full story

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Blast, drone kill 13 militants in Yemen

More than 10 suspected al-Qaeda operatives were killed by an explosion in a house in south Yemen where they were making bombs and at least three others died in a drone strike, tribal and official sources said on Sunday. Full story

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Hundreds demonstrate in Athens against racism

Hundreds of people held a rally against racism and fascism in central Athens on Saturday as mourners gathered to pray over the body of a man killed in a suspected racist attack. Nearly 3,000 people, according to state broadcaster... Full story

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